The Battle of the Sexes
 By Mark Forsythe The Kansas City PostOn KCPT's Kansas City Week in Review this past Sunday my wife and I got a good laugh out of an exchange between KMBC's Mike Mahoney and The Star's Lynn Horsely. Mr. Mahoney brought up in passing that there is a potential this year to have Kansas City's first female majority city council. Ms. Horsely promptly chastised him, taking offense that gender has anything to do with coping with bad roads or tax incentives. She went on in a cynical manner and stated that women are "just as likely to be influenced by special interests as men." It's obvious Lynn has been around City Hall for a while! We found it pretty amusing to watch Mike Mahoney back pedal so quickly. He made some comment about "just bringing it up because it was interesting" or some such comment, but Lynn was having none of it. I doubt he'll be bringing up gender issues around Ms. Horsely any time soon. Then on Tuesday night our phone rang. The Caller ID said "Friends of Beth Gottstein." Having no interest in listening to a volunteer read a script to me I let it ring through to voicemail and promptly forgot about it. Later that night as Nicole checked messages she exclaimed "Oh my god!" in a perturbed manner. With a disgusted look on her face she handed the phone to me. The following is an exact transcript of what I heard. "I am a volunteer calling to encourage you to to help us elect the first ever Kansas City, Missouri woman majority city council by supporting Beth Gottstein for 4th at-large and Cindy Baker-Circo for 5th at-large. I want you to know why I'm supporting Beth and Cindy. They'll both bring new ideas and fresh leadership to the council and will work to improve basic services that we need so bad[sic] throughout the city, leading us with honesty and fiscal accountability. They will both put the interests of Kansas Citians, and women especially first. Thank you and remember to vote for Beth Gottstein for 4th at-large and Cindy Baker-Circo for 5th at-large on March 27th. If you have any questions please feel free to call us 931-5209. Thank you and have a wonderful day." First of all, does this mean that every other woman in the race is a lock? Why are just these two candidates the key to a majority? Having had a pleasant meeting with Jan Marcason who is running for the 4th in-district I can tell you she doesn't consider herself a lock in the general. Quite the opposite. She's campaigning like she's far behind, leaving nothing to chance. What do you have to say faithful readers? Does gender matter on the city council? |
posted by Mark at 9:09 AM
Comments on "The Battle of the Sexes"
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Anonymous said ... (7:19 PM) :
post a commentOf course gender matters. It is a factor, just like many other factors, to be weighed in determining whether you want to vote for someone.
In this instance, it might be a cool thing to have a female majority council. It could even, in a close case, attract companies to consider locating here, by providing evidence we're not a bunch of backwards rednecks.
Now, that being said, I want to be clear that gender is only one factor to be considered. But it is a legitimate factor.
I can tell you having dealt with many city council people in the metro area, I can tell you that hard-headed/stubborn/non-listening council-people come in both genders. In fact, I'd say probably the worst 2 or 3 we've come across have been female (do you want me to name names?)
The biggest thing to me is that too many of these council people think they know all the answers already. Those are the ones that really cause us problems.
I got an invite to an event they had for Beth and Cindy on Tuesday night...honestly I think Cindy is doing herself a disservice by even being grouped with Beth. I really like Cindy, but Beth, wow, anyway.
BTW, I'll be stunned if Jan doesn't run away with the 4th...I can't imagine any of your and Zeke's voters turning to Mel "I'm an Architect" Solomon...
Playing on gender is pathetic. I expect something like that from Gottstein but now Circo has lost my vote as well.
Appropriate you used the picture from the Riggs/King match. That was from MY day and the proper time period for this type of logic.
These two ladies are too young to remember when the rest of us were out marching in the streets for women's rights so we could even be taken seriously in business and politics.
I'm not voting against them because they're making this about gender, I'm voting against them because they're just plain stupid.
You're wife sounds like a smart woman Mark. Perhaps she should run for office next time?
Pathetic is right. I was wondering if this issue would come up publicly. Imagine my surprise when, my email ended up on a list that received this message last weekend:
"By and large, women govern differently. They listen. They engage. They share." -Quote from a Tucson Councilwoman from its first female majority city council.
Kansas Citians are ready for a change. We have capable, well-qualified women ready to deliver that change. Let's get together and help put them in office.
Join us for a get-tegether frunraiser and support Beth Gottstein and Cindy Circo in their bid to hand Kansas City its first-ever, female majority city council.
Tuesday, March 20
7-8:30 pm
Rockhill Tennis Club
Please Bring Your Friends!
Hostessed By: Committee for a Majority Female City Council
Anne McGregor
Principal
MC2 Consultants
(816) 561-9629 voice
(816) 516-9851 mobil
www.mc2utilityconsultants.com
I declined the invite.
-c
Do not be mistaken - I am VERY grateful for the women who blazed the trails for me so that I can play in a professional orchestra or go to law school and actually be considered for a partner track position at a law firm. It was not so long ago that women could not do these things. Today they can. Women can also research their choices and decide on a candidate. I am insulted that an organization with as much political clout as the WPC would try to sway my vote with school-yard reasoning. I don't vote for people b/c they are the same as me - I vote for the candidate I feel is the most honest and open-minded. That person is not always a woman.
I'm still voting for Cindy in spite of this faux paus (sp?) but Beth has never been a consideration. And after the attack ad on Gamble I received in the mail from one of her "supporters", I busted a vein in my forhead. I'll be sending her my medical bills.
Rene Paulka from Independence is the best example of the worst politician in the metro area...supposedly it's a woman but that's not how I refer to it...
Yes - of course women govern differently than men. It's a good thing.
Did you see the hearing last week with Gore testifying in front of Boxer & Inhofe? She knocked his ass down - somewhat politely - and let Gore finish what he was saying.
Elections have consequences.